How would you describe the modern theory of evolution?

Question

Gabriella Anderson · Accepted Answer

Basically, it is a refinement of some of the aspects of Darwin's original thesis, based on new understandings of genetics.

The neo‐Darwin view of evolution incorporates modern understanding of population genetics, developmental biology, and paleontology, to which is being added knowledge of the molecular sequencing of DNA and the insights it provides concerning the phylogeny of life. https://tutor.hix.ai The synthetic theory of evolution is essentially a combination of Charles Darwin's concept of natural selection, Gregor Mendel's basic understanding of genetic inheritance, along with evolutionary theories developed since the early 20th century by field biologists, population geneticists, and more recently by molecular biologists. The hottest area of research concerning the mechanisms of evolution today is in evolutionary developmental biology (commonly known as evo-devo). It focuses on discovering and understanding genetic changes that alter embryonic development and lead to new features in species lines. https://tutor.hix.ai

Clara Atchley · Answer

A theory in crisis

Modern evolutionary theory is based on combining the theory of De Vrie's mutations with Darwin's theory of natural selection leading to descent with modification. The Modern synthetic theory is facing seemly insurmountable problems. The study and experiments of mutations in the past hundred years has failed to produce any empirical evidence supporting the concept of descent with modification. None of the extensive experiments has created any new usable life forms or variations that are more complex than the original species. The discovery in the 1950s that DNA was a complex informational code has also created problems for Neo Darwinism. Information transfer is regulated by the laws of information as formulated in Shannon's Laws of information. That is information transfer is extremely conservative and governed by the laws of entropy. For mutations. accidental changes in the DNA ,to create new and improved information is a violation of Shannon's laws of information. The odds of creating even one new functional protein by accident are so small as to be seemly impossible. The probability of producing a 150 strand of amino acids for a functional protein enzyme are # 1 xx 10^164# Dembski calculated that number of possible events that could create a protein are # 1 xx 10^140# The number of elementary particles #10^80# times the number of seconds since the big bang (# 10^17#) times the possible number of interactions per second ( # 10^43#) This leaves the odds of a single protein happening by accidentally cause as # 1/(1 xx 10^24)# . 000000000000000000000001 The Neo Darwin or Modern synthesis is dependent on the concept of mutations creating new information. What is known of DNA as an informational code and the laws of information make this concept so unlikely as to approach the miraculous. Years of experimental efforts have failed to produce any empirical evidence to support the theory leaving the theory in Crisis.

Lydia Adams · Answer

undefined The modern theory of evolution, also known as the synthetic theory of evolution or the modern synthesis, combines Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection with the principles of genetics and molecular biology. It states that populations evolve over time through changes in allele frequencies within a gene pool, primarily driven by mechanisms such as natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation. Evolutionary processes lead to the divergence of species from common ancestors and the adaptation of organisms to their environments. Additionally, the modern theory of evolution emphasizes the role of genetic variation and the importance of both microevolution (changes within a population) and macroevolution (the origin of new species and higher taxa) in shaping the diversity of life on Earth.